Lost and Found
by Erik's Aria
Summary: A young girl goes to Paris with her friend for a musical summer intensive.  While on a tour of the bowels of the Opera House, she falls into the lake and Erik saves her. Erik/OC, Modern Day. CANCLED! :
1. Chapter 1

Lost and Found

Chapter One: Down Once More

"Sarah, wake up! It's time to go!"

I hoped out of bed and stared to get ready. Andrea and I had been invited to a summer music camp in Paris, so we were going to the Opera Garnier for a tour. The tour was part of the camp package, but we both had our own reasons too. She was going for all the arcutectural stuff for college next year, and I was going with her to brush up on my French. I threw on some jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved top and then we headed for the door. Although we had both been exposed to the Phantom of the Opera (both the 2004 movie and the books) we were both realists, and knew he would not be there, so we didn't think of it.

When we finally made it to the catacombs, I was bored. Andrea was taking notes on tunnels and whatever else, while a dozen other girls were giggling about the phantom. It was getting _really_ annoying. And of course, I was getting a headache.

We came to a fork in the passage-way, and the guide let us look around independently for five minutes. I found a smaller walk way that no one else noticed, and went through to check it out.

On the other side was a straight drop-off to the great under-ground lake that Erik was rumored to live across. It was truly a sight to behold. The lake stretched on for miles in almost every direction, and the LED lights shone on it giving the illusion of the moon shining.

"He certainly has good taste in scenery," I whispered to myself, marveling at the great lake.

The guide called that we had one minute left, when the power went out. There was lots of screaming, which only added to my growing headache.

"Stay calm!" she shouted, "There's no need to worry, this happens from time to time. Just stand still and it'll come back on in a moment."

I was blindly trying to find my way back to the group, when I slipped on a rock and fell head first into the water. I tried to swim back towards the surface, but something was pulling on my foot. After struggling for some time, I felt something swim down beside me and setting me free, before I lost consciousness.

* * *

When I woke up, I was in some room. I rubbed my head while sitting up when I saw a note on the table.

_You may take a bath to clean yourself of the lake-water. When you are done, come to the library. _

_-E._

E? Surely not Erik. No, I must be dreaming, or hallucinating, or…something! Erik has been dead for at least a hundred years, there is no way it's him. I pinched myself to test my state of consciousness, and when I felt real solid pain, I just decided to go get clean, then go to Erik in the library.

* * *

I stepped out of the shower feeling deeply refreshed. I combed through my straight auburn hair, before throwing it up in a towel. I wandered through the room looking for some clothes. When I found a black robe, I threw on and tied it tightly around my slender waist. I let my hair down and combed through it again before setting out to find the library.

When I walked in, he stood gracefully and bowed his head. To return the greeting, I curtsied slightly before sitting down. When he sat, I got a good clear view of his face, or I guess his mask. It wasn't the silly little white half-mask in Lloyd Webber's production; it was a full-faced black mask, devoid of any emotion. Two yellow-golden orbs emitted from the eye holes. I guess it would be considered as the Leroux version of Erik, he seemed very tall and unhealthily skinny, had rather thin black hair slicked back close to his head, and of course, long thin fingers sheathed in black leather gloves. He wore black dress pants, a white collared shirt, and a dark green vest with a blazer jacket over it.

"I assume you want to know why I brought you here, and who I am?" he had a beautiful melodious voice.

"Oh, yes please," not wanting to be rude I allowed him to tell me his story, rather than get it wrong and risk upsetting him

"To start, everything from the lake and forth is my property. After you fell, I took it of liberty to save you from drowning and bring you back here. You have been unconscious for two hours, and I could not return you in such a state. Your friend went home safely, but has been told not to call your parents 'til morning while security searches for you. You are more than welcome to stay the night here if you wish it. I am Erik."

"Well thank you for saving me Erik, and I would very much like to stay the night here if it's not too much trouble. By what time should I leave in the morning? My name's Sarah, by the way."

He sighed, "No, mademoiselle, you will not be leaving. You have passed beyond the lake, and therefore you are now under my possession."

I was utterly shocked. I knew Erik would be unpredictable, but to keep me captive, and for god knows how long? It was all I could do to not scream insanely, this was still Erik, and he could still kill me.

"Well, if I am to be your captive, then why would you offer me to stay the night?" even if I were to be his captive, I would give him as much hell as I could.

"I assumed that you might be uncomfortable sleeping in the home of a monster, so I cleared a spot by the lake for you, but my presence does not seem to bother you as of yet."

Of course it would be about his monstrosity. Although I do have a really aggressive nature, I'm truly a compassionate person. My friends called me their 'extra mother', so I was good with dealing with little insecurities like this.

"Okay, first of all, I consider monsters to be Elmo and Grover from Sesame Street, so since you're not fuzzy, you're _clearly_ not a monster. Second of all, I would rather sleep in a stranger's home than outside any day. And third of all, though I have yet to see it, there is a 99.9 percent chance that your face will not bother me. I grew up with two older brothers whose sole purpose on earth was, apparently, to scare the crap out of me with scary movies, so I can handle just about anything."

His eyes glimmered with hate, and although I had been trying to keep the mood light, I could tell I went too far.

"Tell me then, if a man who has killed too many too count, frightened the only one he loves into the arms of another, and has felt no kindness from the day he was born, what is he because I would _love_ to know."

I took a deep breath before giving my answer, "He is a son of God. Regardless if you believe in him or not, I do, and so since I have asked I shall receive, since I have knocked the door shall be opened, and since I have prayed I shall be answered. My friend, Andrea, is always preaching that to me."

All the blood drained from my face as I realized Andrea will be calling my parents tomorrow to tell them that I was lost under the Opera Garnier, and there is a good chance that I'm dead. Which would mean the authorities would look harder for me, and if they found Erik…

"Then why has he not-

"Dammit!"

"Excuse me?"

"What about Andrea?" When he didn't answer, I elaborated, "The friend who will be calling my parents to tell them that I got lost in the catacombs."

"Your point being? Even if they think you are still alive, they will not make it to my home, I will not allow it."

"So you would kill them just so they won't come looking for me?"

"You are my property now, have I not reason to protect you?"

I scowled at him for sounding so possessive over me, and he returned it, for being so head-strong probably. I stood and walked around to the fire-place.

"What if I went back to my apartment and let her know I was alive? She doesn't have to know where I am, just that I'm safe. I can write down something for her to tell the police and then we can come straight back here. I need to get my things anyway, so it's really not that much of a problem."

"And how do I know you won't try to run away, or tell her _I_ took you captive?"

"You could escort me there and back if you don't trust me."

I turned and we stared at each other for about three seconds while he considered my proposition, "Very well, we shall leave in a half hour. Your clothes are dry, so you may put them back on until you have your other belongings."

With that, he stood and left the room while I grabbed my clothes and went back to my room to change. Between dealing with Andrea_ and_ Erik, I could tell it was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Authors Notes: this is my first fanfic! I'm really excited about it, but I need comments so I can correct all my problems! ummm I haven't started the second chapter AT ALL yet, so it may be a while before it's up:(**

**Til then!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Did you think that I had left you?

At about 7:30, we set off for my apartment. It was a quiet, long walk there; Erik took lots of backstreets, and I didn't dare question his sense of direction. Once or twice I tried to start a conversation, but he would only answer in short, choppy statements, so I stilled my efforts. Finally, I could see my apartment and began to quicken my step, when he grabbed me with his ice-cold hands.

"You have exactly thirty minutes to go in, convince your friend to lie, get your things, and come out. I will be watching the entire time, and if I do not agree with what you tell her, I will come in and forcefully take you out. Do you understand?" He said each word through clenched teeth.

"Yes sir," I turned on my heel and walked straight up the steps to the apartment door. After fumbling with the house key, I finally got the door open and stepped in.

"Hey I'm home", I decided to mess with Andrea a little before getting down to business.

"Sarah? Oh my god! Sarah! Where have you_ been_? I was worried sick! I thought you had died in there! Oh!" a tall, wide-eyed girl with mousy brown hair pulled me into a tight hug and rubbed my back while I gathered my thoughts.

"Yeah, well I can't stay long; I've got to go back out in about twenty-five minutes." She let go of me then, and pulled my down to the couch with her. Her large eyes confused.

"Go? Sarah, you just got back. Where do you have to go?"

"Um, somewhere else", I tried to keep away from the actual truth, but we would probably get back around to it in the end.

"Why? Did something happen? Did your mom call?"

"Not exactly, but something came up and I have to leave." I glanced down at my watch; twenty minutes left. I took her hands in mine and pulled my lips into a tight line before looking back up at her. "And I have to leave _tonight_ before it gets worse. So I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"I need you to tell the police exactly what I'm about to tell you, and nothing else." I waited for her to grasp what I was saying. Finally it struck her; I was asking her to lie.

"No! I won't lie to the police, Sarah!"

"Andrea, just listen, all right?"

She calmed down and I looked her straight in the eye again.

"I want you to tell them that I was feeling sick during the tour, so I found my way back, and I came home to rest. When I was feeling better, I went out for lunch and I got a call from my mother saying that my grandmother was deathly ill, and I have to come home as soon as possible. When I came back, you were here and the police had already left, so I told you what was going on, and I grabbed my things and left at eight o'clock. They have to know the exact time, so eight o'clock, Andrea."

I checked my watch again; fifteen minutes. I needed to wrap this up.

Andrea was staring off into space, while I waited patiently on her answer. She looked at me, and a single tear fell down her cheek. She knew that whatever I was doing, I couldn't tell her, so she didn't try to squeeze it out. She didn't know where I would be, but she trusted me so darn much she would let me go. Damn Erik.

"Sarah, when will you come back?"

I smiled slightly, "Whenever I can."

"And you'll be safe, where you're going?"

"Yes, I'll be safe." That wasn't a complete lie, Erik would be my only threat, but I could handle him.

"Alright, Sarah, I'm trusting you on this, but you will _so_ owe me when you come back" We stood and hugged for a while, and then I ran and grabbed my stuff real quick, making sure everything was there.

"Andrea, I promise I'll stay in Paris if it makes you happier." At that she nodded her head, so I gave her another hug. My watch had five minutes left.

"Okay."

I walked out of my apartment to where Erik was hiding in the shadows. I was pissed at him for making me stay with him, because right now he was about the last person I wanted to see.

"Very nice, you could make a wonderful actress one day."

I glared at him with as much hate as I could muster, shoved my bag into his hands, which he took gracefully, and he began to lead back to the opera house. I was silent the whole way back. _Is this right? Allowing myself to stay with him? _My feet slowed down slightly, so that I was about five paces behind him. _But what's the point in running? He'll only get mad at me._

We finally made it to the Rue Scribe entrance and I waited as he opened the large gates and let me walk in. Once we had both passed its borders, he locked the gate into place, securing my prison.

He rowed us across the lake and when we landed he helped me out. I reached back to grab my bag, but in doing so I slipped and almost fell, but he caught me and steadied me. I mumbled my thanks and he led me to my bedroom. Only after he had closed the door, and I had locked it into place did I break down crying.

I woke up feeling like shit. My face was red and puffy from crying all last night, and I was wracked with guilt for making Andrea lie. Plus I had horrible morning breath. I rolled my shoulders several times to try and ease the stiffness out of my back. I sat curled up in a ball for a while just staring at the wall when my stomach growled obnoxiously. I decided that in order to get the breakfast that I so desperately needed, I would need another shower. So I pulled myself out of bed and grabbed my bag of toiletries and went to start the water. While I was waiting for the water to warm up, I thought about how Erik was still in existence. _Hm. I'll have to ask him about that today._ I shampooed and conditioned my long hair thoroughly until all the knots and tangles were out. I shaved under my arms and up my legs before soaping down my body. When everything was clean I turned the water temperature about half-way between hot and cold and let the water work the hard knots out of my back. I tried my hardest not to think of last night's events because that would cause me to start the calming process all over again. So in place I gently sang to myself. I sang 'Home' from Beauty and the Beast. It seemed appropriate enough. I had been singing softly in case _he _heard me-I would rather not start my day with a depressed Erik-but when I got to the end verse, the musician in me couldn't resist a legitimate end note. So I stood straight and tall, opening my arms wide,

"Home and Free!"

I cut the note off short and blushed like crazy when I realized what I did. I stopped to listen for anything, and when I heard nothing I quickly finished in the shower. I ran a towel through my hair, and then set my part.

While I picked out what I was going to wear for the day I mentally prepared myself for Erik. Now I really felt like Christine. I finally decided on wearing some dark blue skinny jeans and a purple blouse. I went back into the bathroom to dry my hair. I usually let my hair dry naturally, but leaving it wet in a cold, damp cave didn't sound like the best idea. So I dried my hair quickly and threw on my converse, before setting out to find Erik. Again. I wouldn't be surprised if I asked for a map of this place by tomorrow.

I finally found him in the dining room. It was a fairly large room. There was several candelabras scattered about the room adorned with glowing candles. A large china cabinet graced the western wall, and a small table on the east. In the middle of the room the dining table-this only had two table settings-sat on top of a royal blue rug with golden tassels on the edges. He rose from the table when I entered.

"Good morning, Sarah."

"Morning," I came and sat down across from him.

There was a variety of foods, some I didn't even know what they were. I decided on a biscuit with jelly for now.

"So I was wondering," I could feel his gaze on me as I smeared the jelly onto my biscuit.

"Yes?"

"Well, I mean, I was hoping that you would tell me how exactly you still exist and whatnot, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

He seemed to ponder my proposition for a while before answering, "After breakfast."

* * *

**Authors Note: Hello! So i decided that i will try to update once a month, so you should be expecting me again in January. I'm not exactly sure how long this book will be, but it should be no less than 16 chapies.**

**ok so r&r plz!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Flattering Child, You Shall Know Me

I tried to control my excitement as I ate, but to no avail. Erik didn't eat anything, he just drank an oddly dark red wine. I drained my water and set it back down on the table with a thud.

"Finished?" he asked.

"Yes."

With that we stood, and I followed him to the library, where I sat on a crimson love seat. He sighed deeply and pierced me with a sorrowful stare.

"I assume you know how I came to know…_her_?"

"Yes, but which version is most correct?"

"Leroux's, I suppose."

"Then, yes I know how you came to know each other."

"That's good, saves me from explaining _everything_."

He sighed again, looking at the spot next to me. I assumed that was where Christine used to sit.

"It was five days after I had told Nadir to post my death, I had lasted longer than I should have. She had come down with Nadir and that boy to give me back my ring. I was in my room when she came to me…

"_Erik! Oh, angel I didn't know you were still with us! I have come back to give you your ring, just as you asked. I am wearing it, too. Do you see?" Christine held out her hand to show Erik it was still there._

"_Thank you my dear. It means so much to know that you are still loyal to your old teacher." Erik rasped out._

"_Erik how long have you been in this suffering?"_

"_Five days. Don't worry about me, Christine, it only hurts when I breathe." He let out a low chuckle before going into a fit of coughing._

"_Christine? What is taking so long?" Raoul's voice could be heard from outside the door._

"_You brought him here?" Even in sickness, Erik's anger coated his words._

"_Erik, please don't be upset. It will only make you worse." Christine reached out to place her hand on his shoulder, but he pushed her away._

"_As if that isn't what you want," he sneered "To have me go off and die so you can be with your precious Viscount."_

"_Christine? Who is in there with you?" Raoul asked from outside._

"_No one, Raoul. Go back to the sitting room."_

"_Christine I am certain you are talking to someone, now tell me who it is!" He then entered the room to find Christine kneeling beside the bed of Erik._

"_You! How dare you try to bring her back here, and away from me!" He shouted, pointing a finger at Erik._

"_Leave here! You are not welcome in my home!" Erik said as he jumped from the bed._

"_Raoul, please. He is nearly dead. Let him have his last moments with me. Let him leave in peace." Christine begged._

"_If he is so nearly dead, why not just finish him off so we can be rid of him?" He shoved Christine away from Erik, and pulled a pistol out from his jacket pointing it straight at Erik._

"_Raoul, no!" Christine ran to Erik to try and protect him, but in the process Raoul fired his shot and it hit Christine instead. Christine's eyes widened as she sunk to the floor, hand over bleeding heart._

"_Why?" Was her last words as she slipped into the hands of death._

"_What have I done?" Raoul whispered as he held his dead fiancée._

"_You killed her. You killed her! And so I will kill you." Erik wrapped the Punjab lasso about Raoul's neck and pulled it tight. A distinct crack could be heard as the boy's neck broke cleanly in two. Erik moved the body out of the way so that he could hold Christine's corpse, and cry all his tears. He stayed there for two more days, waiting for death to come and take him too, but to no avail. Finally he could wait no longer, so he ran to his cabinet of herbs and medicines and drowned all the liquids and finely crushed leaves he could. Returning to Christine, he waited. After an hour he became very sick and ran to the bathroom to relieve himself. When he was done he suddenly felt very energized, and more healthy than he ever had._

_For three days he ran about in a wild frenzy. He did everything he could, but his body seemed immune to every torture he put upon himself. Whatever he had consumed, it had made him immortal. He could not die._

"Once I calmed down, I went a state of depression. I wouldn't eat or drink, I wouldn't even move. About a month into it I became crazed again. My body ached and craved for something, but I didn't know what it wanted. I went to my medicine cabinet to find something to soothe it, but when I got there my subconscious mixed the first potion together and that quenched all of my aches and pains. I made several batches of it and put them down in my food cellar for when I need them. I have created the elixir of life."

I let his words sink in. It wasn't that I didn't believe him, it was just a lot to take in at once. He silently began to cry, and I could swear you could hear my heart breaking for him. I slowly rose and walked over to him, sitting down in front of his chair.

"It's okay to cry, Erik. You have more than enough reasons to." With that he dropped his calm façade and cried his heart out. He slipped down to the floor by me, and I cautiously placed my hand on his back, and when he didn't move away I began to rub my hand in small circles. Occasionally he would whisper words about Christine, but I just sat by and let him vent out all his pent-up sorrows. When he was done he silently got back up and went back to his chair. I sighed and sat back down on the love seat.

"I apologize you had to witness that, but I assure you it will not happen again."

"No, it's fine. Things like that don't bother me anymore."

"Anymore?" I could see the curiosity in his eyes. I smiled and nodded my head.

"Yeah, when my brother passed away I cried _so _much, but after about a month or two I got back on track. Helping my Mom get through it and stuff."

"I'm sorry to hear that. How did your brother pass?"

"Andrew was born with a disability that made him prone to have seizures. He had been on medicine, but he got real sick and he had to change. When he got better they tried to get him back on his old medicine, but his body rejected it. One day he got mad about something and all the energy he wasn't using had to get out, so he had a major seizure and he died."

"I'm sorry, Sarah." My head snapped up; that was the first time he had called me directly by name.

"I'm fine with it by now. No sense in crying over spilled milk." I smiled to try and lighten the mood, but he was still upset about past events.

"Well, what's on the agenda for the day?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey, I'm early! I didn't really want to work on my other fic right now, so I just worked on this one. I know that was kinda short, but I ran out of writing ideas, sooooo.**

**Merry Christmas everyone!:)**


	4. Chapter 4

I have decided to stop working on this story for a little while. That does NOT mean I'm done with it, it just means I don't have enough time to update regularly, and I don't really know what to write anymore. Plus a lot of stuff needs to be edited, and I'm too lazy to do that right now. Check back every now and then during the summer, cuz that's when it SHOULD be back up. But that doesn't mean it WILL be. Sorry to make ya'll wait this long, but that's how its goin down. Sorry.

My most sincere apologies,

Emmaline


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